The Sky is Broken
by Trish6
Summary: Sometimes if you look too hard, you are blind to what is right in front of you...R/R please!
1. Default Chapter

The Sky is Broken  
  
By: Trish  
  
Disclaimer: I have only a few meager possessions; the rights to the x files (and Moby for that matter) are not included among them.   
  
Author's note: This is written in a pseudo-script fashion, only so that it may be easier to follow in scene transition and to better relay my vision of how the story plays out. Also, a great majority of the story is dialogue.  
  
Scene1: Outdoors yet the background is unclear. The sun is shining above in a pale blue sky. (In slow motion, Scully's long auburn tresses flail into the air as she turns her head so that her eyes meet with Mulder's) 'The Sky is broken' by Moby is playing in the background.  
  
SCULLY voiceover:  
  
There have been times I have been sure of what I felt, and then others when I have only scraped, if that, the surface. Truth...the truth is deep-rooted. Not only in its own foundation, but also in the depths of our souls. Why then is it hard to seek out the truth? From my own experience, it is easier to see events unfold from at a great distance than when you are one of the components of the situation in examination. We don't see ourselves, and when we do, it is hard to justify such a truth. But we see what we reflect off others. The way they interact with us is a major cue to who we are. So, can't we then say our own truth lies in those around us?  
  
(Mulder and Scully at each other in slow motion. Scully blinks and when she re-opens her eyes, they doefully catch the glare of the sun. Mulder puts his arm around her; her reflection can be seen in his eyes.)  
  
Scene2: Basement office, 9:36 a.m Monday morning.  
  
Dana Scully, weary from the arrival of a much too early Monday morning and a too short fleeting weekend, sips from her steaming Styrofoam cup. Sitting behind her partner's desk, she stares straight ahead at nothing in particular, as she is lost amongst her own thoughts.  
  
MULDER: Hey, uh, Scully? (Notes her spacey disposition as he examines her from across the office as he enters)   
  
Scully acknowledges his presence as she slightly shakes her head, but she does not look up at him or respond. She picks up a chewed up pencil from out of the pencil holder and rolls it between her thumb and index finger. She raises one eyebrow as she looks at the reflection of light in the metal piece that fastens the eraser to the pencil.   
  
MULDER: Skinner wants to see us in his office in thirty minutes. (Mulder uses pun to fluctuate his tone to capture her interest, but in rather unsuccessful)  
  
SCULLY: Why? (Obviously very uninterested as she continues to twirl the pencil)  
  
MULDER: To review our recent progress. (mockingly, he tosses his over-coat to the side and sighs to himself as he approaches the desk)  
  
SCULLY: (Still avoiding eye contact.) What progress? (what would be considered a facetious tone had she lacked any detachment)   
  
MULDER: (stares at her blankly) I think that's the point.  
  
Scully looks up at him for the fist time but still says nothing.  
  
MULDER: I can see you could have used a longer weekend as well.  
  
Scully looks at him curiously.  
  
MULDER: (sighs as he sits on the corner of the deck, he places his hand in such a way that it touches hers. The pencil is now under her fingertips) I somehow overlooked my power bill. And NO one would come out to turn it back on because of the storm. SO, I spent my weekend trying to do a profile on that guy Burns for AD-A-HOLE Skinner by the one candle I have that you gave to me that one night I stopped by your place and said I liked the way your apartment smelled. (breathes in deeply) AND I had to take a cold shower. I haven't had a cold shower since my senior year in high school when I was dating this one girl that, well, never mind...  
  
SCULLY: (she moves her eyes over him still lacking any facial expression) I, uh, I've been thinking a lot.  
  
Mulder flashes her a discrediting look.  
  
SCULLY: About work, my life. My life that revolves around my work. My work that is my life. (she stares off into space again and nods her head slightly as she quietly speaks)  
  
MULDER: And what, you're unhappy with what your life has become, or what your work entails?  
  
SCULLY: I joined the bureau knowing of the demands and time consumption. I just feel...I feel like I don't know where I am going anymore.  
  
MULDER: I never know where I'm going. I just chase the lights in the sky and follow the breadcrumb evidence left behind by a conspiracy that is always ten steps ahead.   
  
SCULLY: (smiles) At least you know what you want.  
  
MULDER: What? To find proof of aliens? To prove to the world that I'm not insane?  
  
SCULLY: You don't want that anymore?  
  
MULDER: (shrugs) I have lost all credit that I ever once may have attained.  
  
SCULLY: As a person or from your own viewpoint?  
  
Mulder does not answer. His hand that rests next to hers takes the pencil from under her fingers and begins to roll it under his palm.  
  
SCULLY: What do you want then?  
  
MULDER: (looks at her, his face contorts to a visage of uncertainty) Change, I guess.  
  
SCULLY: (stunned) Well, I think we're in for some change...  
  
MULDER: What...Skinner? How's that anything new? (He looks up at the ceiling where pencils hang like ornaments)  
  
SCULLY: Well, it's always interesting to hear what he thinks...  
  
MULDER: (smiles) Oh, yeah. (pauses) Even he thinks I'm a waste.  
  
SCULLY: What...what is this? Wosey Mulder? You want me to grab my violin?  
  
Mulder, very unamused, looks at her sharply.  
  
SCULLY: (in response to the 'look') I'm just not used to seeing you like this.   
  
MULDER: Maybe I've just been so blinded by my own selfish pursuit that any chance for a life has really passed me by.  
  
SCULLY: It's what you make of it. You are here because you are meant to be. When opportunity arrises, choice is at your disposal. Or maybe it can be ascribed to something less intricate.  
  
MULDER: What?  
  
SCULLY: (shrugs) I don't know...fate maybe?  
  
  
  
MULDER: Less intricate than choice?  
  
SCULLY: I think so. At least choice is subject to control.   
  
MULDER: But the choices you make lead the construction of your fate.  
  
SCULLY: Mulder, you are supposed to be the grounded one.  
  
MULDER: (aghast) ME? I have my head in the clouds most of the time. Or searching the skies!(Taps the pencil in the air as he talks)  
  
SCULLY: (Grabs the pencil from him) Yeah, well, at least it's something you're passionate about. Something you believe in.  
  
MULDER: (thoughtfully) What do you believe in?  
  
SCULLY: Justice, science, truth...that we all have the power to sculpt our lives to our liking.  
  
MULDER: So, you are happy with your life then?  
  
SCULLY: I never said I wasn't. I just get a little restless. And being chewed out by Skinner doesn't ease the tension. (looks at the clock)  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
So..What do you think so far? Suggestions? Comments? Flames? Let me hear it all! Post your review or e-mail Trishmix@hotmail.com  
  
"The Sky Is Broken"  
  
See the storm is broken  
  
in the middle of the night  
  
nothing left here for me  
  
it's washed away  
  
the rain pushes  
  
the buildings aside  
  
the sky turns black  
  
the sky  
  
wash it far  
  
push it out to sea  
  
there's nothing left here  
  
for me  
  
I watch it lift up to the sky  
  
I watch it crush me  
  
and then I die  
  
Speak to me baby  
  
in the middle of the night  
  
pull your mouth  
  
close to mine  
  
I can see the wind coming down  
  
like black night  
  
so speak to me  
  
like the winds outside  
  
it's broken up, pushing us  
  
hear the rain fall  
  
see the wind come to my eyes  
  
see the storm broken  
  
now nothing  
  
speak to me baby  
  
in the middle of the night  
  
speak to me  
  
hold your mouth to mine  
  
'cause the sky is breaking  
  
it's deeper than love  
  
I know the way you feel  
  
like the rains outside  
  
speak to me  
  
(Recognize it? That's because this is the same song that plays in 'All things') 


	2. Ch2

"Adversity is a severe instructor, set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as he loves us better too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial." -Edmund Burke  
  
Scene3: Walter Skinner's office. Mulder and Scully are sitting next to each other opposite Skinner.  
  
SKINNER: Agents.  
  
Mulder and Scully look up at Skinner in anticipation. Mulder's eyes are heavy with irritation. Scully's face is expressionless as she folds her hands over her crossed knee.  
  
SKINNER: (to Mulder) I received the profile you did for me. Thank you.  
  
MULDER: (nods. looks over at Scully who does not return his glance)  
  
SO... why not just cut to the chase?  
  
SKINNER: (furrows his brow as he examines Mulder's impassive resolve. Sighs and removes glasses) I have been asked to keep close watch over the progress of all my agents. The bureau, as you may already know, is reviewing all expenses. Last year the amount of expenditures were doubled from the previous year--  
  
MULDER: So, we're a waste of money, resource, time...(sarcastic)  
  
Scully looks over at Mulder with a look of surprise.  
  
SKINNER: Don't put words in my mouth Mulder  
  
MULDER: I never said they were your words. Popular opinion, perhaps. Hey, I understand. Our work is the garbage left behind by everyone else. So we have become rather accustomed to 'dumping'.  
  
SKINNER: Roll me a log here Mulder. What's the matter with you?  
  
MULDER: Logrolling? Yeah. (laughs) Eye for an eye.  
  
SCULLY: Sir, uh (lets out a heavy breath and then looks over at Mulder who wears a smirk on his face)   
  
MULDER: Don't bother Scully.   
  
SKINNER: Mulder, would you please step outside?  
  
Mulder rolls his eyes but does as he's asked.   
  
SCULLY: He's been under a lot of pressure, it's not a good time.  
  
SKINNER: When is it ever? (stands and follows Mulder)  
  
Mulder presses his back up against the wall and pops a sunflower seed from his coat pocket into his mouth.  
  
SKINNER: I put my ass on the line for you.  
  
MULDER: What do they want?  
  
SKINNER: They want me to reassign the both of you-  
  
Mulder shifts uncomfortably and tilts his head.  
  
SKINNER: I need you to show me something, that's why I had you do that profile. I need to be able to justify the expenses. They are looking for recruits to the violent crimes section. Your name has been tossed around.  
  
MULDER: I have worked too damn hard. Agent Scully and I have sacrificed too much to just...  
  
SKINNER: I know agent Mulder. But you have to help me. I have to appease these people. I am your saving grace. You change your mind set or you'll lose. (turns and opens the door to his office)  
  
Mulder pops another seed into his mouth and follows Skinner.  
  
SKINNER: (picks up a file off of his desk and hands it to Scully)   
  
SCULLY: Is it an x-file?   
  
SKINNER: Michigan triple homicide in a suburban neighborhood. No evidence of a forceful entry into the homes and no identifiable murder weapon used.  
  
SCULLY: Sir?  
  
SKINNER: All three victims, in two separate households, were found with their doors locked and, well...their skulls collapsed.  
  
SCULLY: Collapsed?  
  
SKINNER: As though they were beaten with a baseball bat. But no evidence of any object used to create such damage has obtained.  
  
MULDER: So, why are they murders?  
  
SKINNER: (pulls out a picture of a couple in their mid 40's laying in a pool of blood with their heads sunken in like rotten pumpkins.) The frontal lobes of their brains have been removed.  
  
SCULLY: (grimaces) How?  
  
SKINNER: Through their noses. A very clean, precise procedure.   
  
MULDER: And this made their heads sink in?  
  
SCULLY: No, the skulls would have remained in tact. (examines picture closely in disgust and then looks up at Mulder and Skinner who share a similar expression)  
  
SCULLY: They have already been given an autopsy?  
  
SKINNER: Twice now.  
  
Scully and Mulder both look up at him.  
  
SKINNER: All of their organs had been removed and found beside them in a jar.  
  
(pulls out several more pictures)  
  
SCULLY: (reading a paper she has pulled from the file) The coroner's report states that all the noses, mouths, eyes and ears had all been coated in beeswax.   
  
MULDER: Beeswax?  
  
SCULLY: The abdomens were packed with lichen, snakes heads and dung beetles.   
  
MULDER: (examining a picture of the dead couple) That's a canopic jar.   
  
SKINNER: A what?   
  
MULDER: ( points to the clay jars, one each found by the bodies containing the organs)   
  
The Egyptians, while in the process of mummification, would remove all the organs and place them in the canopic jar.  
  
Scully takes the picture from Mulder and examines it.  
  
MULDER: (to Scully) You said the bodies were found with snake heads and dung beetles packed inside them? Well, the dung beetle is a green scarab. The scarab, or dung beetle, was an Egyptian symbol of rebirth and the endurance of the human soul. The snake's head is to protect against snake bite. These amulets, among others, were typically found in the wrappings of the mummified bodies. These charms served two purposes: to protect the deceased from danger and symbolic to the renewal of strength.  
  
SKINNER: These bodies were not mummified, or wrapped.   
  
MULDER: Well, maybe we are looking for someone who isn't too familiar with the ancient rituals.  
  
SCULLY: Why would the murderer do all of that?  
  
MULDER: To see that they cross over safely and properly to the afterlife. Or maybe he was trying to protect them.  
  
SKINNER: From what? Why would he only remove part of the brain and remove all other organs?  
  
MULDER: Maybe he thinks he's saving them from something.   
  
SCULLY: I think Mulder has a point. Maybe the murderer is unfamiliar with the rituals.   
  
SKINNER: But each body was found in identical condition. He didn't mess up. Everything performed was planned out.  
  
SCULLY: Before we jump to any conclusions, I think we better determine all the facts. 


End file.
